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Contributor's Note

This brief piece was written during a physician wellness weekend as part of a presentation on literature in medicine. The presenter invited everyone to take a moment and compose a short narrative for submission. This was my contribution.

Good Cooking Stories … for Now

Lucy is friendly, full of life and energy, and endlessly enthusiastic. She used to be a chef but now teaches cooking at a community college. I ask her about her class: how she goes about her work, and why she loves it so much. Her stories are endless. The only other thing she likes to talk about as much are her young children and her annual summer gig as a chef at the Canyon resort – a get-away spa for the rich and famous near Phoenix.

It happens that another patient once told me he had been a student at the community college where he learned how to run a restaurant. He now owns a successful food truck. As I asked more and more about his background it became clear that he had been one of Lucy’s students. He clearly adored Lucy as much as I.

Lucy has cancer. A slow-growing cancer. One that we have never had to treat but one that one day will get worse.

I always look forward to seeing Lucy though I dread the day I have to tell her that things have changed.